Can banks recover from a depositor's military levy: a lawyer's explanation

A lawyer Yulia Panasyuk told this in a comment to the Ministry of Finance. In Ukraine, the bill No. 11416-d "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Ensuring Balance of Budget Revenues during the Martial Law" is adopted, which provides for an increase in military levy from 1. 5% to 5%. However, the bill is not signed by the President and does not have clear explanations from the State Tax Service (DPS).

This leads to uncertainty about the use of new taxes and fees, as well as to complicate their administration. Banks and employers cannot withstand taxes, and the responsibility for paying the tax difference lies with taxpayers themselves. According to the Ukrainian legislation, the principle of retrospectiveness in tax law is usually not applied. This means that new tax norms cannot affect transactions that have already occurred before the law enters into force.

For example, if the bill comes into force after payment of a deposit, the bank has no right to demand payment of military fees in retroactive number. This principle ensures stability in tax issues, since changes in tax rates should not affect the income that has already been received or paid. For FOPs, which report on a monthly basis, it is important to consider possible changes in taxation in order to avoid debt and unpaid taxes for previous periods.

If the rates of military levy come into force, the FOPs will have to file clarified declarations during the periods that cover the time before the introduction of new rates. Fixed reporting will help to take into account the relevant income and tax liabilities in accordance with the current legislation. The specified declarations are a tool that guarantees the correct calculations and takes into account new tax rates only for those income that appear after the official approval of changes.

The problem of uncertainty in changing tax rates also affects employers who are obliged to pay wages, especially in the case of dismissal of employees. In case of dismissal of the employee before the entry into force of the entry into force of the entry into force of the current rates of military fee and personal income tax. This will comply with the accruals of current rules at the time of payment.

Employers should consider: depositors with deposits may encounter the impact of new rates of military levy. Particularly relevant are cases where the depositor closes the deposit account, for example, in October, before the official introduction of new rates, as this is due to issues of retrospective taxation.

In practice, banks will not be able to keep the tax in retroactive number, since the current banking system does not have an automated mechanism to adjust taxes that have already been accrued and paid. If the new law provides for an increase in rates but will come into force only after payment of income to depositors, banks will not be able to apply new rates to the funds already paid.

However, in case of approval of tax changes in the future, the tax inspection may require depositors to submit a specified declaration and pay the difference between old and new tax rates. In this case, the depositor will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements by submitting additional reporting or appropriate payment. Earlier, focus told how much banks Ukrainians often trust their money.